Federal officials told CNN yesterday evening that they've begun reviewing Nakoula Basseley Nakoula's probation. Nakoula is still serving five years probation that began in 2011 when he was released from jail for using false Social Security numbers to open bank and credit card accounts. The L.A. Times and Reuters both report Nakoula voluntarily left his California home to meet with federal authorities late last night. As Reuters explains, Nakoula could be headed back behind bars:

But the terms of Nakoula's prison release contain behavior stipulations that bar him from accessing the Internet or assuming aliases without the approval of his probation officer.

A senior law enforcement official in Washington has indicated the probation investigation relates to whether he broke one or both of these conditions. Violations could result in him being sent back to prison, court records show.

The feds have to prove that it was Nakoula who went by the name Sam Bacile while producing Innocence of Muslims. Most of the cast and crew who worked on the movie believe they're the same person. Bacile was the name given to the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal by a man on a cell phone traced back to Nakoula's known residence earlier this week. The fine line authorities are balancing here is stressing Nakoula isn't being investigated over the film itself, free speech laws protect him from any prosecution over the effects the film has had in the rest of the world, just to see if he violated his probation during the production process.

UPDATE: We missed this from the L.A. Times story: "Restrictions were also placed on him enlisting others to get on the Internet for him."

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

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Connor Simpson is a former staff writer for The Wire. His work has appeared in Business Insider and City Lab.